Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 W.Nr. 601088 was attached to Stab.IV./JG3 at Plenzrau in
Northern Germany. At the end of hostilities, this aircraft was surrendered to
the RAF at Flensberg. When W.Nr. 601088 was shipped to the United States as a
war prize, it was accidentally matched with the wings from a Fw 190D-13 ("Yellow
10", W.Nr. 836017). Although the wings of the D-9 and the D-13 were ostensibly
similar, the shell ejector chute arrangement and other significant details were
quite different.

The Dora arrived at Wright Field around August 1946 and was later transferred
to the National Air and Space Museum's facility at Silver Hill in Washington.
This aircraft has been on loan to the US Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio since
1975.

During June, the US Air Force Museum participated in a project that was
destined to return the appropriate wings to their respective aircraft. The plan
was to remove the wings from the D-9 in Ohio and the D-13 at the Champlin
Museum, and swap them.

Due to a brilliant stroke of good timing, I just happened to be in Ohio
during one of the short number of days before the correct wing was rejoined with
its fuselage. Even luckier, the fuselage and wing were on public display at the
time. This was a truly unique opportunity to record otherwise inaccessible
details of the Dora 9.

The following photographs were taken on 9 July 2001 at the US Air Force
Museum.

Focke-Wulf Fw
190D-9 Wide Open

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